It is known to utilize push bars not part of cabinet structure of a paper towel dispenser to actuate mechanism within the cabinet to cause dispensing. Typically, this mechanism includes a toweling transport drum or roller which causes unwinding of a roll of toweling and delivers the tail of the toweling toward a dispensing position, for example alongside a cutting blade of the dispenser.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,898, issued Mar. 7, 2000, is one example of such an arrangement. The roll towel dispenser disclosed in that patent teaches use of actuator means in the form of a push bar utilized to rotate a drive roller causing paper in contact therewith to be unwound from a paper roll and dispensed through a dispensing outlet. The push bar is not part of the cabinet which includes a housing and housing cover but rather is pivotally mounted on the housing, extending outwardly of the housing below the bottom thereof. A single arcuate gear segment is attached to the push bar to apply a force at one end of the drive roller for rotating the drive roller.
Other patent documents considered representative of the current state of the prior art are: U.S. Pat. No. 2,149,088, issued February, 1939, U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,842, issued January, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,664, issued March, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,839, issued March, 1961, U.S. Pat. No. 3,007,650, issued November, 1961, U.S. Pat. No. 3,126,234, issued March, 1964, U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,387, issued November, 1966, U.S. Pat. No. 3,466,963, issued September, 1969, U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,743, issued December, 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,218, issued October, 1974, U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,191, issued November, 1975, U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,509, issued January, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,833, issued May, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,165,138, issued August, 1979, U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,442, issued March, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,562, issued May, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,679, issued December, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,547, issued March, 1982, U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,169, issued November, 1982, U.S. Pat. No. 4,378,912, issued April, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,163, issued August, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,748, issued September, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,421, issued September, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,768, issued September, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,485, issued July, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,412, issued July, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,724, issued August, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,548, issued June, 1992, U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,192, issued March, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,982, issued March, 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,973, issued June, 1996 and Canadian Patent No. 2060799, issued August, 1992.